Moscow [Russia], April 8: A Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket, christened the ‘Victory Rocket’ in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, was launched on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan toward the International Space Station (ISS), according to Russian state media.
The rocket carried the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, with a three-member international crew onboard — Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, and NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim, as confirmed by Roscosmos, the Russian State Space Corporation.
The launch took place at 5:47 GMT and was successfully broadcast on Russian state television. The spacecraft reached orbit within nine minutes, with docking scheduled at approximately 9:04 am GMT with the Prichal module on the Russian segment of the ISS.
The crew is set to remain in space for 245 days, or roughly eight months, during which they will conduct various research and operational tasks.
Jonathan Kim, 41, a former US Navy SEAL and medical doctor, is making his first spaceflight. Sergey Ryzhikov, 50, a seasoned Russian Air Force pilot, is on his third mission, while Alexey Zubritsky, 32, embarks on his first journey to space.
NASA noted that Kim’s mission includes conducting scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to advance preparations for future deep space exploration and to benefit life on Earth.
Once aboard the ISS, the trio will join current station residents including NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Kirill Peskov.
According to Roscosmos, the launch drew over 2,500 tourists to Baikonur, highlighting the ongoing public fascination with space exploration.
The crew’s mission insignia pays tribute to major milestones in space history — 60 years since the first spacewalk in March 1965, and 50 years since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first US-Russia joint space mission in July 1975.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov remarked in an interview with International Affairs journal that Russia and the US can still achieve success in space cooperation through public-private partnerships, contingent upon political will from both sides.